Book To Movie Monday (3)


For this weeks Book to Movie Monday I have decided to cover the movie TwilightIMDB. I am someone who was dead set against having anything to do with the Twilight series sparkling vampires and all that jazz. Plus I admit I really do not enjoy K.Stewart on screen. But eventually I was coerced into at least trying out the first movie. So back in late 2010 I watched it for the first time. Knowing that the movie was obviously based on the book I decided to then read it as well. Thus my love/hate relationship with The Twilight Saga was born.


First let's discuss the Book. Below is the Cover:


Now for a little backstory in case some of you aren't familiar with the Novel. Twilight is written by the Author Stephenie Meyer and was published back in 2005. Stephenie had at least 14 rejections for her series before being picked up by Little,Brown and Company. Stephenie Meyer has stated that the idea of Twilight came to her in a dream back in June,2003. From that moment on she couldn't stop thinking about the characters and thus the Twilight series was born.


Let's look at some of the characters now shall we.

Main Protagonists

Bella Swan- Isabella Swan is a 17 year old girl who recently makes the move back to Forks, Washington to live with her father Charlie. She eventually meets Edward a mysterious, brooding boy from the Cullen Family. Jacob Black who is a family friend hints about the Cullens being vampires but brushes it off as Tribal legend and nothing more. Eventually Bella figures out the story has basis and confronts Edward about him and his family. More then a bit alarmed that she is OK with this he relents and by the end of the book they have started dating.

Edward Cullen- The "youngest" of The Cullen Clan. Edward was changed at the young age of 17 by Carlisle his "father". Edwards mother pleaded for Carlisle to save her son from certain death due to Spanish Influenza. Agreeing he took the near death Edward to his home and then turned him into a Vampire. Edward had always had a knack for reading people; after his transformation, this ability blossomed into a true psychic talent. The only person whose thoughts he cannot hear are Bella's much to his frustration. With his natural parents both passed away, he inherited the family home in Chicago, and about every 50 years, he would inherit his family fortune from himself, pretending to be a new heir.

The Cullens


Carlisle-Head of the Cullen Clan, and husband of Esme. He is the adoptive father to Edward,Emmett,Jasper,Rosalie and Alice. Carlisle is the town doctor and first meets Bella after Edward rescues her from almost being crush by a car. Carlisle is happy with Edwards newfound relationship and accepts her into the family.

Esme- Wife of Carlisle and adoptive mother to Edward,Emmett,Jasper,Rosalie and Alice. Esme first met Carlisle when she was 16 and broke her leg. Shortly thereafter he moved away and she moved on with life. Forced to please her family she married at the age of 22. Her husband wasn't what she expected and upon learning she was pregnant she ran away. Unfortunately the child died two days after its birth. Devastated by this Esme attempted suicide but Carlisle who happened to be working at the hospital turned her and sometime later fell in love and married her.

Alice- Adoptive Daughter of Esme and Carlisle. Adoptive Sister to Emmett,Rosalie and Edward and partner/soul mate to Jasper. Alice was turned by an unknown vampire who befriended her in a psychiatric institution. She has the power of premonition which was heightened after being turned. She is the only other survive of the Vampire James and his relentless tracking of her is the reason she was turned in the first place.

Emmett-Adoptive Son of Esme and Carlisle. Adoptive Brother to Edward,Jasper and Alice. Partner/soul mate to Rosalie. Emmett was turned by Carlisle after Rosalie rescued him from being mauled by a bear. Feeling guilty that he died while trying to provide for his family. He asks Edward to provide a small fortune and leave it on the doorstep for them to find. He has tasted human blood on several occasions thus forcing the family to move.

Jasper Hale- A major in the confederate army he was turned by the vampire Maria sometime during 1863. He is the Adoptive son of Esme and Carlisle. Adoptive Brother to Edward,Emmett and "Brother" to Rosalie. He is the partner/Soul mate to Alice. He can sense the feelings of people and influence them as well. He is not happy with Edwards fascination with Bella and maintains distance from her to keep from feeding on her.

Rosalie Hale-Raped and Beaten to the brink of death Rosalie became a vampire in the year of 1933 after being turned by Carlisle. She is the daughter to Esme and Carlisle. Adoptive Sister to Alice and Edward and "Sister" to Jasper (pretend to be twins in Forks). She is the Partner/Soul Mate to Emmett. She is a brilliant mechanic and likes to collect cars.

Other Notable Characters

Charlie Swan- Father to Bella. He accepts Edward reluctantly which is quite noticeable since he's always making sure to arm Bella with pepper spray. He also is the Chief of Police in Forks.

Jacob Black- He is a Quileute Native American. He and Bella knew each other from childhood but barely spent time with each other. In the first book Jacobs role is relatively small. Used only to imprint the information that the Cullens are vampires into her head. He is 15 in the first book with long glossy black hair.

James- A Vampire tracker, he catches Bella's Scent and hunts her down as his next meal in Twilight. He is the partner to Victoria. He is also the Main Antagonist in both the book and film version of Twilight. Unlike the Cullen Clan he drinks Human Blood and is slightly stronger because of this. He has only ever lost two hunts. One when Alice was turned and the other Bella though he did almost succeed in killing her.

Victoria- Mate to James. She was turned by her sister who years earlier had been turned herself. While briefly happy with her new life it was not to be. She avoided all vampires until crossing James one day. She avoided him for many years and when he finally caught her impressed with her evasion skills he decided to claim her as mate rather then kill her.




Major differences between the Book and the Movie.

In the Book Bella and Charlie don't eat at the diner. In the movie they eat at it quite often.

In the Book there is no mention of a Cullen Family Crest. In the Movie all members wear the crest on them in some way.

In the Book Edward takes Bella to his house to meet his family and while they are there he plays Bella's lullaby and then shows her the house, including Carlisle's office where he discusses their history. In the Movie when she visits they are preparing her Italian Food and when Edward states she already ate Rosalie smashes a bowl in disgust.

In the Book Victoria doesn't talk. In the Movie she states that she has a wicked curveball.

In the Book the Graduation Cap art is never mentioned. In the Movie it is shown and mentioned quite prominently.

In the Book you only see Victoria, James and their Companion Laurent once. In the movie they are seen killing Waylon Forge at some docks and they also kill a security guard at Grisham Mill. Victoria is also seen at the end of the movie watching Bella and Edward dance together.

Which brings us to In the Book the character Waylon Forge doesn't exist. In the movie he is seen not only at the diner but when he is ultimately killed as well.

In the Book Bella figures out Edward is a vampire before the restaurant scene in Port Angeles and confirms this to her in the drive home. In the movie this doesn't happen until later.

In the Book Edward will invade anyone's thoughts in order to protect or gain information about Bella. He invades Jessica's mind to track Bella's movements in Port Angeles and complains about how boring it is to listen to. In the Movie he reads some frat boys minds, realizes Bella is in danger and then rushes to her rescue.

One of the biggest differences is The Meadow Scene. *Spoilers Below

In the Book it is a 33-page story arc that begins in Chapter 12 and concludes at the end of Chapter 13. It is the scene that Stephenie Meyer dreamed about way back in 2003. It is arguably the most pivotal scene in the entire book. In this scene Edward consciously decides that he loves Bella more than he wants to kill her. He realizes he has control over his bloodlust because her safety is more important. The scene ends with them sharing their first kiss. Now yes The Movie does have a Meadow Scene but it takes barely a minute and has no dialogue only Bella watching Edward sparkle in the sun. Needless to say that scene after reading how awesome the book version is was a total letdown.


While I liked both the Book and the Movie I do feel the book was better. So much was cut down to fit into the 2 hour timeslot. Plus again K. Stewart is at times just awful to watch on screen. Many people comment about the budget in the first movie but I never watched it feeling deprived by this. The Book like the movie is sweet and endearing and at times just pure campy goodness. I cannot though review this series without mentioning what I hated and that is certainly The Sparkling. It just seemed so awful a thing to do to the characters. I think this could of been handled better had they radiated beauty then the heh we can't go in the sun cause we sparkle like diamonds. Also Edward at times is so pushy and protective it borders on abusive creepy instead of longing love that I feel she was trying to portray. One thing I absolutely adore about the Movies is the Character of Alice. She translated so well to screen and that credit has to go to Ashley Greene. I also really liked the actor Billy Burke who portrayed Charlie .

Well that about wraps up this weeks Book to Movie Monday. I don't think the book ever had a trailer but I'll post the movie one down below in case your curious. Leave a Comment down below telling me which you liked better and why. Have a recommend for an upcoming Book to Movie let me know that as well.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Party Games by R.L. Stine

Books To Movies Giveaway hop!!

Giveaway: Vamps vs. Zombies Blog Hop!!